Intel’s Wi-Fi-on-a-chip technology moves us several steps closer to « the Internet of Things, » where everything from your toaster to your garage door opener is on a network.

Intel is also unveiling a new wireless standard to go with the chip: WiGig, which consolidates a number of proprietary wireless technologies under one umbrella to deliver bandwidth over 5 gigabytes per second. And for good measure, Intel is also developing a vast Cloud Radio Access Network, which will allow Intel-based servers to act as wireless providers, giving faster service than today’s hubs with fewer dropped connections.What all this means for consumers is a range of wireless applications that have been frustratingly out of reach for too long. Wireless connections that are cheap in terms of manufacturing cost and power consumption will enable a generation of phones and laptops that can be constantly downloading email,, news, and other data without devouring battery power. Many cities have talked about making their entire metro area wireless-enabled; this technology could make that kind of vast wireless network orders of magnitude cheaper and more reliable.